A Journey Like No Other
by Ami-Chan22
Summary: Su is the princess of the Southern Water Tribe and has a loving mother, father, and Fire Nation brother! One day, after getting kidnapped, she goes on a journey to learn about her past, present, and future. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AtLA OR ITS CHARACTERS!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Come on! Seriously, you are such a slow person," I complained. My older brother Aden groaned and continued trudging through the snow. Being one of the Fire Nation, it must have been hard for him in these conditions. On the other hand, he had been living with everyone for almost three years now.

Aden plopped on the snow and sighed heavily. "Su, do you have any idea about where we are?" he asked me.

I thought for a few seconds before smiling and shaking my head. I never knew where I was going, yet I somehow always returned home like I had a map of the entire South Pole.

We continued our small journey until we reached an area that was completely habited by penguins. My eyes widened with glee as I ran to give each of them individually a hug. Aden slapped his hand on his forehead. "Why do you have to act so childish? Instead of playing with them, we could take them back to the town and grill for food," he suggested.

My arms started flailing around in a frenzy. "Shut up, Aden! I cannot eat penguins, and you know that!" I cried.

"Can't you think of anyone besides yourself?"

"I'm thinking about these poor penguins who could lose their lives under Dad's orders."

"Su, you really need to learn to act your age!"

I glared at him. I was fifteen, and that seemed pretty young enough to have a little playtime within the work. If anything, he needed to learn to act his age. He was nineteen. That certainly did not and never would give him the right to boss me around and be the parent.

Aden grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I had gotten on his last nerves, and all he wanted now was to leave. We arrived at what appeared to be the ocean when Aden grabbed onto me and blasted us into the air with his fire bending. We were at least twenty feet above the water, and I really hated heights, so of course I started screaming. He kept blasting the ground to push us back up every time we were close to the water.

Suddenly, we kept getting lower and lower. Aden tried his absolute hardest to get us aloft again, but it wasn't working. "A-Aden...why are we not in the air anymore?" I shouted.

"I don't know! Just be prepared to swim!" he answered.

We landed in the freezing, icy water. Our new fur jackets were soaked, and even they could not protect us from the cold. Luckily, we both could swim, but unfortuantely that didn't help much since our bodies were much more focused on getting warm. I could feel the water completely surrounding my figure. I could taste the water in my mouth. I could hear Aden calling after me. How much longer could I handle the pressure of the water, the limited amount of time not being able to breathe?

I coughed as I heard a different voice calling my name.

"Su...Su...Su!"

I sat up and looked around. _I'm in my room_, I thought. _Was it all just a dream?_ Mom was sitting on the edge of the polar leopard-skinned bed. She explained that I must have been having a bad dream or that I was getting sick, for she heard me coughing violently and mumbling in my sleep. I shook my head to signal that I was fine, even though I really wasn't. It was never fun to have a dream where you drowned in the freezing cold ocean.

Mom left the room to leave me be. The sun was not even halfway across the sky, so it wasn't midday yet. In fact, it probably was still morning. I could hear Aden snoring in the next room over, which made me laugh. I always tried to tell him that he snored whenever he slept, but he never believed me.

Putting on my coat, I walked outside and stared up at the tall buildings. Both Mom and Dad explained what it was like before the South Pole became a bustling city. It was just a village, with a couple of tents surrounding a nice fire in the center to keep everyone warm. It sounded impossible since I had grown up in the city-like South Pole my whole life. No one even remembered the old days except for a couple of grandparents and mothers and fathers. Grandma didn't come here until she married our grandpa, whom had lived in the South Pole for the first few years of his life.

I walked around the coastline, not getting to close to the water because I was still recovering from my nightmare the night before. Then, in the distance, there was a large fog that kept getting closer and closer. Stepping back, I gazed at the shadowy figure behind the low clouds. I started making a run for it towards Dad's place. He was basically the ruler of the South Pole (it goes back to my great-grandpa who started that tradition) so he would know what to do. I charged through the gates and dashed past the grand hallway. Dad was in the meeting room, discussing something with the assistants.

"Dad! There's something coming this way! I don't know what it is. It's covered by a fog of some sort, but it definitely is coming this way," I said quickly.

He nodded. "Send out some riverboats to find out what my daughter saw," he ordered his most loyal attendent. I followed the master waterbenders outside and decided to be a stowaway on one of the boats. Both Dad and Aden disliked the fact that I wanted to always hang out with the masters and go on missions with them. However, I was a waterbender like a lot of other citizens, so it was only fair that I should learn to use my bending. It was a blessing to have received the power to bend the elements, so why should someone not be able to use that?

As the small boats were closer to the large shadow, they disovered that it was a large ship...from the Fire Nation. They froze the sides of the gigantic boat to a halt, but the soldiers burned the ice and headed further towards my home. The waterbenders didn't give up, for they sped over and practically froze the whole ship this time. Even the fire soldiers were to try and melt it, it would take more than one blast to start moving again.

I watched all of this from the bottom of the tiny water tribe gondolas that faught against the fire benders. I tried to get a better look, but I suddenly felt a jab in the back of my neck, which made me fall backwards into the water. My eyes were shut as I watched my life flash before me. Surprisingly, it was only a few more seconds until I could breathe again. I tried to open my eyes at least a little bit, but my vision was completely blurry.

I heard footsteps coming closer to me. I prayed that it was a waterbender or a master coming to my rescue, but it didn't sound like one. In fact, the voice seemed to be echoing off of metal, or something close to that material. "Excuse me, Your Highness, but what should we do with this one?" the voice said with a questioning tone. I don't know if I actually was, but I think I started to cry after he said that.

Another voice chuckled with amusement. It sounded like it was coming from a boy around my age, maybe Aden's age. Aden...I could hear him calling me and fighting the soldiers as I heard the ship take port on our shore. The young boy's voice interrupted my thoughts saying, "Just bring her to one of the empty bedrooms for now." Everything after that was just darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I slowly opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by hundreds of objects colored in crimson and red. I was lying down on a bed, and a cozy one at that. Unfortunately, I had no time to take a nap or admire the decor. I had been kidnapped and I needed to find a way out of there before something bad happened.

Carefully, quietly, I opened the steel door. I was really good at being silent, so I had hoped it would be a breeze to escape. It was strange, though, for I heard nothing while wandering around the halls for a minute. No one was talking, no one was walking around on guard duty, I even wondered if anyone was steering the ship. Of course, someone most likely was. It just didn't seem like it.

I continued searching for some way of escape, but there was nothing. I was becoming discouraged at this point, although I knew I had to urge myself on or there would be a good chance of being a captive in this place forever. Soon, I heard a conversation between a couple of people. Older people. I stayed standing in case I had to make a run for it, but I listened to what they were saying.

"Seriously? I thought she was just some little girl who was trying to help her father or something," the voice of one man said with a little laugh at the end. I rolled my eyes, already irritated with the topic.

"Ha! Yeah, like the water tribe princess is just another ordinary girl on the block," another replied.

It was nothing important in my opinion. They were just talking about me, and I knew I would hear this kind of thing sooner or later. Yes, I was the princess of the Southern water tribe. Like I had said before, my dad was like the emperor or king in the South Pole in his own little palace. Mom ruled alongside him with Aden and I as their royal children.

I cautiously tip-toed away from the guards, praying that they wouldn't hear me. I was a few yards away when I accidentally tripped on my coat. It was made by Mom to look like a dress, so I touched the ground anytime I walked, and I constantly trip over it since it's still new. I fell hard on my side and moaned silently in pain. Getting up was difficult, and to make it worse, the guards that had been talking less than a minute ago were dashing towards me. I decided to lie as still as possible. I was already in trouble for leaving my room, so fighting and making things hard for them would simply get me in even more trouble.

They lifted me off of the ground, which made my chocolate brown hair gracefully fall below my shoulders. "Hmm, what do you think we should do with her until Rokuro comes back?" someone asked. I assumed Rokuro was the person who had taken me in the first place.

There was clanging and more footsteps heading this way. I glanced up while trying to keep my head low, which was just about a total failure. Standing in front of me was a young man, definitely around the age I had guessed, with long crimson robes that dropped to the floor like my coat did. He also had shaggy jet black hair and a smile that struck fear into all who even glimpsed at him. Indeed it did the same for me, and I'll admit I'm not one of the bravest people, but I tried to stay strong.

"I see you tried to give yourself a nice little tour or the place," he spoke.

I turned away, not responding.

"You don't have to fear me, you know." He walked forward a little more and kneeled before me and lifted my chin so I was forced to look at him. He chuckled softly.

I shut my eyes as tight as possible. The guards were still holding me down, Rokuro was holding my head, and I was surrounded. Their grips grew tighter, and it started hurt. My face turned red as I was about to cry again, but then it all went away. A huge breeze swept by me, the cold having no effect. My eyes were darting around the room as I looked for the something or someone that made the wind.

There. Right in front of me.

"Are you alright?" the young boy asked me. All I could do was give a small nod. The boy had a bright blue ocean in his eyes, and his head was shaved. At first it was unusual, but then the arrow tattoos gave everything away.

"You're an airbender, aren't you?" I asked him.

The boy laughed heartily and bounced around the walls like he was made of rubber. "Sure am! My name's Corey," he replied giddily.

I let out a small gasp. An airbender? How? Only the avatar was an airbender, but I was never going to see him. Corey outstretched his hand and helped me up from the hard floor. I brushed off my coat, turning my attention back to him afterwards.

Corey tilted his head and asked me, "So...who are you?"

I looked at him blankly. I just met him, and even though he seemed nice, I had no idea about who he was. "Er..." I said, hesitating. My gaze focused itself on Rokuro, who was sitting himself up now. I quickly turned back to Corey and asked him, "Don't you think introductions could be made later?"

He twisted his head from me to the Fire Nation boy who finally got up and exclaimed loudly. I shook my head in embarrassment.

Rokuro let out a deep laugh. His black hair dangled in front of his forest-colored eyes. Soon, there was flames winking at me everywhere. Rokuro had gone insane and was putting all of his energy into his fire blasts, which were being aimed at the young airbender. Corey was riding the walls and ceiling, dodging every one of them.

I shrieked as one of them almost singed my clothing, which would have eventually spread to the rest of me. Trying to get out of this situation, I ran into a nearby room and hid under a desk that was in there. Even through the big steel door, I could hear the grunts and yells of the fight outside, and they were getting louder every minute I stayed under that desk. There had to be some way that I could help, but if I tried anything, Rokuro would have slaughtered me. _If only there was some water around here, then I might be able to do something_, I stated silently.

The steel door blew open, with Rokuro hitting the wall. He pushed himself back on his feet, regarding to glance at me, who was shaking ever so slightly on the soft carpeting. He shot a grin at me before fire bending himslef back outside to resume the fight. Corey came bounding into the room literally a few seconds after Rokuro left. I tried to speak to him, but I simply couldn't. Although my body was frozen like a statue, inside I could feel my inner self fighting the prison chains that restrained it.

The airbender cried out to his oppenent, "What would you do if I told Fire Lord Zuko what you were doing?"

Rokuro came inside to chase him and scoffed. "Father? He won't know a thing as long as your not in the way," he answered confidently. He quickly twisted his head in my direction, which made me flinch an inch or two backwards. He added, "And Princess Su here can be claimed as being a 'visitor' who came to see me and the rest of the royal family."

"You're the Fire Lord's son?" I questioned in a surprised tone.

Rokuro raised an eyebrow and countered, "You didn't know that?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I shook my head. I never would have guessed that Rokuro was actually prince of the Fire Nation. Out of everyone, I wondered a little about why it had to be him who was part of royalty for the nation. At least with my people, we didn't kidnap other royals of the different tribes.

Within that silence that appeared for a minute, Rokuro grabbed Corey by the collar and shoved him against the wall. He lifted the airbender about six inches off of the ground. I screamed in horror to let him go, but Rokuro didn't listen. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him. I struggled to regain my freedom, not caring anymore about what he would do to me. Corey had no reason to be harmed. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then again, if he hadn't come on the ship, Rokuro might have killed me.

After another minute, he dropped him. Corey sighed heavily and fell to the ground with a loud _thud_. He looked like he was sleeping, but I knew it was worse than that. What I didn't know was if he was...gone from the world. Gazing up at the ceiling, I whispered to the spirits that I worshipped. The moon and ocean spirits gave me strength and always helped me with whatever I got myself into. I was forever in dept to them.

The ship stopped. Rokuro beamed at the sound of it being motionless and pulled me into the hallway, around the corner, and finally outside where cherry blossoms fell eloquently to the dirt covered pathway. In the distance was the Fire Nation capital.

I forced myself to walk along the road, observing my surroundings. Aden told me once that I was very intelligent for my age. I could outsmart even him, which he thought was impossible until I completely fooled him. He also told me that I had a photographic memory, meaning it was easy for me to remember things. I usually use that to my advantage and now would be a great time for that.

When we were in the outskirts of the city, Rokuro let go of my wrist at last. I held onto it and moaned quietly. He tossed my hand to the side and shoved his face into mine. "Now, listen to me," he started in a hushed voice, "I don't want anyone getting suspicious, so I want you to just go along with what I'm going to do, okay? Don't take it personally or anything." The trees above shaded us, yet I could see his eyes glow. He was gentle and sincere. For a moment, he didn't seem like such a bad guy except for having done the deed of taking me far away from my home. My expression loosened a tiny bit, my eyes matched his, and I gave a small smile to show that I understood his words.

Rokuro grasped my hand softly and lead me into the city. Everywhere we went, every street corner we turned, people seemed to stare and murmur. It was kind of abnormal, though. Prince Rokuro strolling the roads of the Fire Nation capital with a unique girl: the perfect headline. He glimpsed at people starting to follow us and restated what he said to me outside of the city.

I looked at him awkwardly and whispered, "I-I know, but why are you..." Rokuro cut me off by wrapping his arms around me. My face turned a visible red. If I fought him, there would be plenty of witnesses to see someone hurt their prince. "W-What are you doing?" I demanded quietly.

"Remember what I told you: just go with the flow and follow along," he repeated for about the fifth time. We continued walking for another fifteen minutes, and by now more than half the city had probably figured about their prince taking an "afternoon walk" with me. He tugged me over behind a tree and sat me down. I was about to ask him what he was doing again, but I would have gotten the answer he already gave me. He gave that laugh of his and smiled brightly. "This is working. You are doing great," he told me. "All we need to do is get to the palace, but I figured we could rest for a second."

Suddenly, Rokuro let go of me and went flying into a nearby tree. It sent me back a few feet too. _Who is it now?_ I wondered. Before I could say anything, a smile placed itself on my face.

Corey! He was alive! How, I didn't know, but it didn't matter. He was alive, and was here to rescue me. I was in his dept.

Corey frowned and shot seven air waves at Rokuro. "Get away from Su!" he commanded. Dashing over to me, he helped me up and beamed a smile that was brighter than the sun.

Rokuro huffed. He wasn't going to take this lying down. Kicking in the air, he sent five fireballs our way. Corey blew them all out like they were nothing. It was amazing since he couldn't even get himself off of the ground long enough to fight before.

People started to crowd, which was most likely what the three of us thought would happen anyway. Again, I was caught in the middle of their battle, and again, I had absolutely no idea on what to do. The two benders were strong and wouldn't stop until there is an official winner.

I hadn't seen it since I focused on something else for that breif second, but Corey managed to knock Rokuro down for a minute. He took my arm and propped me onto his back. Within the next couple seconds, he was racing just a few light years short of the speed of light. I held onto him as tight as I could. Fortunately, by the time I let go, we were finally out of the capital. The airbender collapsed on the ground and whispered something to himself. I couldn't hear or understand I would he said, but I was still grateful. He stood up and looked at me.

"We don't have much time. Rokuro has probably sent his guards after us," he explained.

Smiling, I signaled my understanding.

Corey smiled back. He took me off of the path and into the woods, where standing before us soon was a giant flying bison. My mouth dropped as Corey jumped on his and gave him a huge hug.

"Heya, buddy! We found Su!" he chimed.

The bison roared, evidently matching his owner's happiness.

I walked forward slowly. I had never seen any animal like this before, so my insticts were obviously telling me to be cautious. My hand touched his soft hair and I gently pet him. Before I knew it, I was betting lifted up by a huge bison tongue. I laughed for it tickled lightly.

"Come on, Su. Let's get out of here before anything else happens to you or me," Corey said, settling down on the bison's head.

I climbed into the large saddle and soon we were up in the air. I didn't dare move from my spot. If I did, I think I would have fainted. Never in my life had I been so high in the air. Sadly, it wasn't that exhilerating for me because I was practically scared halfway to death, but Corey seemed fine. He was used to it though, I reminded myself.

Silence filled the sky as the hours passed. After a while though, though, Corey turned around and said, "Have you heard of the avatar?"

I laughed at such a ridiculous question. "Of course I have!" I cheered in reply.

Corey's expression stayed straight. He blinked twice at me. "Well," he continued, "would you like to meet him?"

"Would I?" I shouted. I attacked him with a big hug. "That would be amazing! How do you know him though? Are you two friends or something?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What?"

"Well, you see, the avatar is my father."

My eyes danced in shock. In one day I learned two things: I had been kidnapped by the Fire Nation prince, and my new friend was the avatar's son.


End file.
